Of Red and Yellow: The story of Akara
by saphiremomo
Summary: Akara has always been the outsider in Tabonia. When the townspeople go to far and she barely escapes with her life, she decides to leave. But what lies beyond the impassible city walls is much vaster than she thought...
1. Threats

Of Red and Yellow

Akara was a normal teenage girl. Well, as normal as one could be, considering that she was raised by warrior monks and all. Also, I can't forget to mention her unusual eyes that reminded many of stormy seas, and her scar. Akara had a strange black scar that twisted and twined, like a vine of ivy, around her forearm, that was only distinguished by its color; it felt just like normal skin. Okay, maybe she wasn't that normal, but that isn't the point.

On the few rare occasions that Akara was found outside the training facility, she was called a witch, a demon, and was begged to leave the city of Tabonia, the capital city of the world of Tabonia, thus the same name. People avoided her stormy glare. When she walked through the streets, there seemed to be an invisible bubble around Akara, because people just went around her.

It wasn't that Akara didn't like how people avoided her. It was just on the contrary. She rather enjoyed the peacefulness of silence when people hushed when she went among them. It was just why they avoided her. Those few brave souls who weren't afraid of a warrior monk – they were idiots, I should tell you – would throw stones at her, hurl insults, and even threaten her well-being. It was on one of these occasions, when Akara was around seventeen, when she decided to leave.

◘ ◙ ◘

"Hey! Demonic Monk! When's your next meeting with the devil?" taunted a sarcastic young man who had previously worked with the monks, until she arrived. In his mind, she had caused him to lose his job, his wife, and his way of life. Now all he could do was find ways to ruin other's lives.

"Witch! Why don't we recreate the old burning rituals?" yelled his roommate, whose only connection to the other was their hatred of Akara. He had been the best monk until she arrived at the training center, and when he declined sharply in his progress, he was kicked out.

Soon others joined in, and some even took action, a few housewives taking revenge for jobless husbands, but mostly men who were just looking for a bit of fun. People who had no connection to Akara, just taking her to be the common target. They slowly advanced out of their homes, rusty swords, butcher knives, any weapon that could be found in their hands along with the murderous smiles on their faces.

With long practice, Akara held her long wooden staff in front of her. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't kill these individuals. A drunk, middle-aged man swung his sword at her; she dodged while hitting him hard in the stomach with her staff. The first shot having been fired, the townspeople lunged at her, but she dodged them nimbly, countering with a smart whap wherever they were exposed. Within one minute, almost all of the people were on the ground moaning or in their houses cowering in fear. She walked away from the fallen group confidently, as if she had had a good workout.

"You were holding back," said a soft voice from the shadows. Akara turned around and saw nothing.

"You held back, ignoring the fact that these people, if given the chance, would kill you," said the voice again, but from a different direction this time.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" growled Akara, her eyes piercing into the darkness, trying to find even the shadow of the person. She hated the fact that this person was mocking her inability to kill humans.

"You shouldn't hold back. Someday it'll get you... killed," uttered the strange voice. A shot rang out, echoing throughout the town. Akara turned toward the place where the shot came from. A dent was now in the wall she had been facing, the bullet having missed her by a few inches. At the end of the alleyway where all the people had collapsed – but who where gone now, thankfully – was a man of about twenty-five, dressed in a brown cloak, his short blue-black hair blowing in the soft breeze, a smoking pistol in his hand.

Akara clutched her staff tightly, and an eighteen inch long blade appeared on the end of her staff. The blade was curved kinda like a half heart, sharp and deadly. But her opponent didn't even flinch as the long blade appeared. He more rather... smirked. "So, that is your chosen weapon. Incredibly deadly, that staff, but not the best weapon against a pistol."

He aimed and shot again, maybe testing her reflexes, maybe just being incredibly idiotic and seeing if she was careless enough to get killed. Akara moved her staff so that the bullet ricocheted off the blade of her staff. "Impressive. But you aren't the first to do that move," he commented.

"What, are you testing me or something?" asked Akara, her eyes glaring at the figure.

"It's up to you to find that out. Can you defend... this?" he disappeared as he spoke, and Akara went into a defensive position. The man appeared behind her silently, and Akara turned around quickly, and jumped a few feet away from him. He sneered at her move. "Wrong move," he said simply, and shot. A fire ignited in her right shoulder, her main arm now disabled. She was pretty much defenseless now.

"Not as well-trained as I thought. I thought you could've avoided that attack, being one of the famed warrior monks of Tabonia and all," he said venemously. "I guess that means you've failed. Your life is mine now." He appeared beside her hopeless form, Akara on her knees, her left arm clutching her right shoulder, and her staff lying uselessly by her side. The man cocked his pistol, and Akara closed her eyes, knowing death was imminent.

"Darkblade, stop," said a casual voice from the sidelines. "You know she's a member of the monks, you said so yourself. They'd be after you for months if you killed this girl."

"You're too compassionate, Nightfox."

"Let your little 'test' go. She's a failure anyway." The man reluctantly lowered his pistol, and walked away. As the other passed Akara, they stopped. "Worthless bitch," they hissed, and walked in the same direction of the other. Akara got up after she was sure they were gone, and summoned her staff into her hand. She was personally glad it was dark. No one could see the blood that slowly dripped down her arm, and the tears that fell down her face at failing.

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"Did you see them?" asked the healer Kylia as she wrapped Akara's shoulder in some linen cloth bandages.

"Only the man. He had blue-black hair, dark eyes, and was thin and gaunt, very confident in himself." Akara winced as Kylia put some more herbs on the bullet wound.

"He had a good reason to be, too. Catching a monk off-guard and even having the chance to kill her. Only weapons masters or other monks can do that, last time I checked," Kylia said as she wrapped more bandages on the wound.

"I guess it's settled then. I have to leave this city, maybe even this world," said Akara sadly. "I can't keep on dealing with these threats and prejudices."

"People have two choices when dealing with something different. Ignore it, or destroy it," said Kylia wisely, pounding her fist into her open palm when she said, "destroy." "And anyway, how are you going to get away? You know the rules. 'Whoever comes into the city of Tabonia may leave, unless they were given a pass at the gates for a certain day amount.' Your pass expired years ago. The only way to get out is to..."

"Kill yourself?"

"Exactly! Wait, is that what you're going to do?" asked Kylia, stopping bandaging for a moment.

"No! I have more than enough tricks up my sleeve. I can get out of this city," said Akara.

Kylia was a healer – well, yeah, that was said in the first paragraph of this part – and was Akara's best friend. Other than those two traits, she was a normal Tabonian. The dark brownish black hair,the tanned skin, the deep crimson eyes. Yes, crimson. I didn't say she was normal on our accounts, just on their accounts. This being the normal person, Akara stood out like a sore thumb. Her silver hair was noticeable from a mile away, and her pale skin was just as eye-catching. Along with her eyes and scar, she was the most abnormal person in the world of Tabonia.

"Why do you even go into the city?" asked Kylia.

"Oh, just to please those poor townspeople. If they don't see me every other month or so, then they start getting afraid that I died in my bed or something, and are incredibly disheartened when they realize they can't kill me," said Akara in a light-hearted, sarcastic tone. "So I go there to assure them I'm not dead." Akara got up and smiled, then walked out the door.

_But they don't realize... that you can't kill them._ Kylia thought sadly. _They won't rest until your body is found dead._

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Saphire's notes: Well, here's installment one of 'Of red and yellow.' It's basically a recreation of 'Akara's Story,' my first ever story published on I bet youhave some questions right now.Why can't Akara kill townspeople? Who are the mysterious people who are trying to kill her? Why does everybody hate her? Well, these questions will be answered in the following chapters. And yes, I know this has absolutely nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts yet. But don't you think that I would have a reason for posting this story on Fanfiction in Kingdom Hearts?


	2. Leaving Tabonia

Of Red and Yellow

As the lecturer droned on and on, Akara sighed from boredom. Everything he said she had heard before. Nothing at all caught her interest. Being a warrior, she was not only versed in the fighting arts, but of an unnecessary class of history and a more necessary class of magic. But unfortunately, the magic teacher had gotten pretty much killed by a novice, so she was out of commission for the time being. After an hour of continuous ignored-by-the-teacher snoring from the other students, the class was over. Akara immediately went to the library.

The library wasn't her favorite place, her favorite being the fighting arena. When she searched the shelves for an interesting book, one in particular caught her eye, a old worn blue tome with faded gold lettering saying "The Legend of Kingdom Hearts."

"A legend..." whispered Akara. She walked over to a nearby table and opened the up the book to a bookmarked page. Once passage stood out from the others. "...for in the deepest darkness lies the true light, but only the one who can open the door can find it. But when red and yellow meld together, the End of the World will return, and all hope will lie in the hands of an outsider and his companions..." The rest of the book was about former kings and a key, and some keyholes, and a ton of other stuff. But the other info was instantly forgotten, and the mystic passage stayed in her head.

But then a misty globe floated up to her, with a message. The standard "Come to the headmaster's office or you're dead," message that made even the toughest of students run to the office as fast as they could. The headmaster was renowned worldwide for his incredible strength, and held the trophy for "strongest person worldwide" for about eighteen years. Well, anyway, Akara rushed off to the office, knowing it was about another mistake she made. The headmaster always singled her out for mistakes, just because she was the first otherworlder to go to the school. Of course, Akara was the only otherworlder to ever visit Tabonia.

When Akara walked in, the headmaster motioned her to a seat. A quiet snicker was heard, and Akara looked around, seeing a tall girl smirking in the shadows of the room. "Your recent failure has come to notice," he said slowly, stressing 'failure,' and 'notice.' "Forcing us of the training committee to talk about what has to be done in light of the situation," he droned on, and the tall girl seemed about ready to burst with laughter. "And, I'm sorry to report, that you have been permanently suspended from our school. You have twenty-four hours to gather your belongings and leave," he finished, and Akara was silent with shock. The tall girl burst out laughing.

"The great Akara, going to be the best warrior ever, now kicked out of the school! This is so ironic! It's so great!" the tall girl laughed.

"Zaraz, be quiet," he snapped, then asked, "Akara, do you have a last request?"

Coming out of the initial shock of being expelled, she answered, "Yes, sir. I would like to have a battle with Zaraz."

"There's the answer I was looking for! This'll be fun! Snitcher vs. Victim!" he yelled out loud.

"Sir!" exclaimed Zaraz.

"Hey, it's true," he said.

_How blunt can you get? He may have a ton a muscle, but a puny brain,_ thought Akara. _The only way he's keeping this job is scaring all of the committee members in place. But I guess it means good things for me._

"Thank you, sir. If I could have an hour to get ready?" asked Akara, and walked out of the room.

"Yes. Zaraz, you get ready too," snapped the headmaster.

"What? Only an hour?" she exclaimed.

"If that's all Akara needs, that's all her and her opponent gets. Your time started five minutes ago," he said, making Zaraz bolt out of the room. He smirked. Akara would probably be remembered for this last battle.

◘ ◙ ◘

Akara pulled the traditional red tunic on over her bronze shirt in preparation for the upcoming battle. She had a hunch that Zaraz knew more than what she was telling, and had more than one reason to snitch on Akara. If she let Zaraz win this battle, she may get some info she needed and at least an ally to help her out of the world. When she finished getting dressed, Akara sat on her bed and meditated, to gather her mind, magic, and muscle, as the fighting teachers called it. There would probably be a great use of magic in the battle, and she had to be ready for everything. Zaraz wasn't particularly known for fighting fair. As she meditated, her mind wasn't totally on her breathing, but a bit on the battle.

◘ ◙ ◘

"Are you sure you're ready, witch?" taunted Zaraz. It was the common custom to taunt your enemies to unnerve them, or strike a nerve, whichever was faster. Akara stood ready, her staff in front of her. Zaraz followed suit.

"Ready, Go!" yelled the headmaster, and the battle began.

Zaraz lunged at Akara, trying to force her to block. Akara evaded the shot, and swung her staff around to trip Zaraz. Zaraz fell, but quickly jumped up and summoned the common blade, except that hers was long and jagged, more to cause pain than the kill. Akara didn't summon hers, but sent a huge strand of fire toward Zaraz, making her dodge. Akara continued her ruthless attacking, while Zaraz dodged every attempt.

Soon, Akara slowed down, not from exhaust, but so that Zaraz would win. Zaraz stood triumphantly, and sent a bolt of lightning toward Akara. She dodged, but Zaraz stood where she dodged to, her strength being quickness, and cut through Akara's bandages, and her jagged blade cutting through the still tender flesh from the former fight. Akara cried out in pain. Zaraz smirked. Rules said that the first to shed blood would win.

"That'll teach you to battle the mighty Nightfox!" yelled Zaraz, her voice echoing throughout the stadium. Akara heard a gasp, probably from Kylia or the headmaster, them being the only people she told the names to. Zaraz cursed. Akara was the one who smirked as Kylia lead her off the stage.

◘ ◙ ◘

"So, what are you going to do now?" asked Jaki, the head healer at the academy. "You have only one hour left here, then you are banished to the city. I know you can't survive there."

"I don't know. I want to get out of this city. But I just don't know how..." wondered Akara out loud.

"Here, let me heal this before you leave," said Jaki, and she continued healing the erratic cut that Zaraz sliced during the battle. Akara winced a bit, but the healing was less painful than the herbs and other medicines that a less accomplished healer like Kylia would use. "Even if you were to get out of the city, where would you go? It's not like you have any relatives outside the city gates."

"I have an idea," said someone from the doorway. In waked Kylia. "I have a friend in the city that found a strange material that he calls 'Gummi,'" she commented. "He makes ships out of it. They supposedly can travel through space. That just may be your ticket out of here."

"That sounds great," Akara said half-heartedly. "Where does he live?"

"I can't tell you, but I can show you," Kylia said simply, and grabbed her bag full of healing medicines and herbs. "Come with me." Akara got up, grabbed her small bag of belongings, and followed Kylia out the door. As they passed the final doorway to the city, Zaraz glared at Akara.

"What happened to you after you admitted your name?" asked Akara kindly and sarcastically.

"I've been banished. But, luckily, I can join the cult that haunts you. I have a message for you..." she said, and walked up to Akara, and whispered in her ear, "Your foreboding death draws ever near." Backing up, she said, "How's that for a prophecy? Just be warned, people are watching you every minute of your life. Especially my darling Darkblade." Zaraz walked out the door, leaving Akara bewildered.

"Come on, his workshop isn't far..." urged Kylia, almost dragging Akara to the city.

◘ ◙ ◘

"Ah, Kylia! Who's the friend that follows you this evening?" welcomed a young man with short blond hair with a leather apron on.

"Cameron, we need a ship, and we need it fast," Kylia said.

"Um, what type of ship? Sailing or flying?" Cameron asked.

"Not one of your regulars! We need the..."

"Gummi ship," finished Akara.

"Oh, so you're going to attempt to fly that thing out of this city, are you? Be my guest. I have no desire to leave," said Cameron, motioning Kylia and Akara to follow him to the back of the workshop. He threw back a curtain, and a huge brightly colored 'Gummi' ship was waiting, with many other blocks of different shapes and colors pushed against the wall.

"Where did you find this stuff?" Akara asked. The 'Gummi' seemed abnormally familiar to her. _But that's impossible,_ thought Akara, _I don't remember anything from the world I'm from, if I'm even from another world._

"I just found it laying around one night after a meteor shower," he said simply. Cameron went inside the ship, closely followed by Akara, while Kylia left. "Oh, yeah," he said, remembering something. "Kylia, you're going to need to accompany your friend as far as the next world or thing that you guys meet."

"My name's Akara," muttered Akara.

"Okay, Akara, these buttons are the guns. Just guns. The blue buttons are lasers, and the two pedals are the accelerator and decelerator. Don't bother with them, though. Neither of them work; the ship goes on only one speed: fast. This screen shows what other ships are in the area, and this screen shows gummis floating around in space. Don't open the door unless you're on a oxygen-producing planet. And..." he said, as Akara and Kylia got into the two front seats, "Most importantly, don't get killed. Have a fun time!" Cameron got out of the ship, and walked over to where a customer was waiting.

"Ready?" asked Kylia, and she started pressing buttons at random.

"Don't do that," said Akara, who pressed a bunch of buttons in order, pobably by instinct, and the ship slowly rose off the ground. As it rose out of Cameron's workshop, the people of Tabonia gaped and stared, never seeing this before. Quickly, Akara pressed another button that made them exit the atmosphere, leaving Tabonia behind.

"So, what'd you bring on your big trip?" asked Kylia.

"Just some food, a few items, and this paper," said Akara, and handed the paper to Kylia. "I can't read the language, and it's meaningless to me. I just keep it because it was the one of the only things I had when I first found myself on your world."

"It says... Worlds Map," uttered Kylia, translating the text. "Our world is on it, and the next world is... something called 'Hollow Bastion.'"

"Then let's go there," Akara said, and started to steer the ship to the distant world.

◘ ◙ ◘

"Where did all these ships come from?" yelled Kylia as she steered the ship. Akara shot down another ship quickly. The ships were numerous, and more powerful than the simple ship Akara and Kylia had. The ships were suicide bombers, and kept on trying to crash into Akara's ship. Luckily, Akara had given Kylia some flying lessons before the weird ships came, and Kylia was a master flier now. Kylia dodged yet another ship as Akara shot down five more.

"Why should I know?"

Suddenly, a huge ship started shooting the little ships with a 'Ultima' laser. Ten little ships were going down at a time. And then, after all the little ships were gone, the big ship targeted Akara and Kylia...

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Saphire's notes: Ooh, a cliffhanger. I actually put a bit of Kingdom Hearts in this chapter, just proving to 'anonymous' that this is a Kingdom Hearts fanfic. So, thanks to:

**Calypso Silverhawk**

**Bracken-Fae**

Review please!


	3. New Allies

Of Red and Yellow

"Hold on! Don't shoot!" yelled Kylia into the speaker that would hopefully transfer the message to the big, huge ship that was threatening Akara's ship. The speakers clicked.

"Are you guys... Heartless?" asked a young sounding male voice.

"Of course not... I hope. What are Heartless?" answered Akara.

"Uh, they don't sound like Heartless," said a goofy voice.

"Of course not!" quacked another voice, barely understandable. "Heartless can't talk!"

"Then they're probably to be trusted," said the young male again.

"What are they doing flying around in space like a Heartless, then?" argued the non understandable voice.

"We're flying around in space, too!"

"Ya know, Donald, Sora has a point," the goofy voice said again.

"Shut up, Goofy!" yelled the quacker, probably the one named Donald, followed by a shout of "Thunder," and a yelp. Kylia winced.

"So, are you Heartless, or not?" asked the male voice.

"As I said before, of course not!" yelled Akara in the speaker. "Do you people or... things... need to see us to believe us? Then turn on your video monitor!"

"Um, I knew that!" said the voice sheepishly, and the video monitor turned on, showing a duck and a dog in clothing, and a boy of fourteen with spiky brown hair and a red jumpsuit. "See, Donald! They aren't Heartless!" The duck crossed his arms and turned away from the screen. "It isn't often we see another human out here. Wait, did we ever see a human out here?"

"I don't think so, Sora," said the dog.

"Well, this being the only human without scarlet eyes I've seen in my life, I'm very welcome to meet you," said Akara gratefully after noticing that these people were on her side.

"Scarlet eyes? I knew there was something fishy about those two!" quacked the duck madly. "They're evil! They're lying to gain our trust! Shoot them down!" Akara loathed the duck instantly.

"What are you, the duck of Doom?" asked Akara sarcastically.

"She's right, Donald. You're acting like a shop vendor catching a thief!" laughed Sora.

"Do you have something to get me onto your ship? My passage on this vessel is limited," asked Akara.

"Yeah, hold on. I think Cid put a transporter or something on here..." Sora said, and the screen closed.

"I guess this is goodbye, Akara," said Kylia sadly. "I can't leave Cameron's ship behind. I owe him too much."

The speakers buzzled, and Sora's voice said, "Sorry for eavesdropping. You forgot to turn your broadcast off. I'll tell you something I've heard before. 'There are many worlds, but they share the same sky. One sky, one destiny.' I think it means that wherever you are, you and your friends know the same sky. Your sky is no different than my sky, or Donald and Goofy's. We can look up at the sky and know that our friends are looking at the same sky. Oh, and the transporter's ready."

"Thank you... Sora," Kylia said quietly, then hugged Akara. "Remember the greatest rule of all: Don't get killed, even if it means at another's life."

"You know I can't do that..." said Akara slowly, then she turned away from Kylia. As Akara slowly faded away, a lone tear dropped down Kylia's cheek.

◘ ◙ ◘

"Nice ship. 'Lot bigger than ours," commented Akara, looking around curiously at the ship that surrounded her. She looked out the window to see Cameron's ship turn away, and head back to Tabonia.

"Who was that with you?" asked Sora.

"Oh, that? She's Kylia, by best friend – only friend – in Tabonia," Akara said, then walked up to Sora. She was at least two inches taller than him, being three years older and all. The dog, Goofy, was about her height, while the duck, Donald, was the shortest, about a foot-and-a-half shorter than Akara. "What's your itinerary?"

"Itinerary?" asked Sora.

"Where are you going?" sighed Akara.

"Oh, to the next world," said Sora.

"Where might that be?" Akara asked.

"Hollow Bastion," Sora said, then, with regret, added, "Where Riku took Kairi."

"We'll have to trade stories sometime. Where can I put my stuff?" asked Akara. Goofy picked up her small bag and placed it gingerly in a drawer. "That solves that problem."

"No! She can't come!" yelled Donald. "Number one, we don't have enough space, number two, she'll only be in our way!" Within a second, Akara's bladed staff was right under Donald's beak. Sora and Goofy looked at her, astonished

"You may want to close that beak of yours, duck. It'll get you in a lot of trouble someday," Akara said coldly, and the blade disappeared. Donald sighed in relief, but his eyes were filled with hatred for the newcomer. _Woopee. I've already made my first enemy here,_ Akara thought to herself.

"We're nearing Hollow Bastion," Sora said. Through the window was a creepy looking castle, a huge bubble of water on the bottom part of the world, the castle on the top. Pipes and light magenta colored magic twisted around the castle, and the infamous Heartless symbol was everywhere. Sora pressed the transporter button, and they all faded off the ship and onto the new world.

◘ ◙ ◘

"The waterfalls... they're rising!" exclaimed Akara as she looked at the rising falls. Various icy platforms were placed as a pathway to a larger platform, with a big stone arch in the front. The castle of Hollow Bastion was after that.

"It's strange..." said Sora, his hand moving over his heart.

"Huh?" Akara asked.

"I feel a warmth inside, right here..." he finished. Donald looked at him disbelieving.

"Aw, you're just hungry," said Donald.

"Hey, I'm serious!" yelled Sora. A roar ripped through the intense peacefulness of the falls. They all looked up at the large platform. "Come on, let's go!" Sora said, and started jumping up the platforms.

"Wait up," Akara yelled, and started her cautious ascent of the platforms. Finally they reached the large one, where a boy with light silver hair and aqua eyes, dressed in a pair of blue pants and a yellow shirt, was confronting a huge beast-man.

"No ship, no help from the Heartless... So tell me. How'd you get here to Hollow Bastion?" asked the aqua-eyed boy.

"I simply... believed. Nothing more to it. When our world surrendered to the Heartless, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again... no matter what the cost. I _believed _I would find her. So, here I am, at the place you call Hollow Bastion. Belle must be here. I will have her back!" growled the beast-man.

"Take her, if you can," said the boy again, his sword appearing out of midair. It looked dark, designed like a bat wing. The beast-man charged at the boy, but the boy dodged behind the beast-man, and injured him severely. The beast-man fell, and that was when Sora stepped in.

"Stop!" he yelled.

_About time he stepped in,_ thought Akara.

"So, you've finally made it. About time. I've been waiting for you," said the silver-haired boy casually, as if he had not hurt the beast-man. "We've always been rivals, haven't we, Sora? You've always pushed me as I've always pushed you."

Sora looked nervous. "Riku..." he mumbled.

"But it all ends here. There can't be _two_ Keyblade masters," said Riku, or, at least, that's what Akara figured who it was.

"What the heck are you talking about?" asked Sora, confused.

"Let the Keyblade choose... its true master!" Riku yelled, and he held out his hand. The giant key that was in Sora's hand kinda fought against him, and then, it appeared in Riku's hand.

"Huh?" quacked Donald. Goofy was equally surprised.

"Maleficent was right," said Riku confidently, finding a way to hold the Keyblade comfortably. "You don't have what it takes to save Kairi. It's all up to me. Only the Keyblade master can open the secret door... and change the world."

"But that's impossible!" yelled Sora. "I'm the one who fought my way here with the Keyblade!"

"You were just the delivery boy," said Riku, and held the Keyblade in front of his face, examining it, ignoring Sora.

_Ouch. If they're world is anything like ours, that was a major insult, _Akara thought, cringing at the thought.

"Sorry, your part's over now. Here. Go play hero with this," said Riku, throwing a wooden sword he was carrying at Sora's feet. Sora fell to his hands and knees as Riku left.

"Goofy, let's go. We have to remember our mission," said Donald, and he walked toward the next platform.

"Well, I know the king told us to follow the king and all... but..." Googy said sadly, then he followed to where Donald was standing.

Donald stopped, then said, "Sora, sorry," and walked away.

Akara stared at Donald and Goofy. "Have you no heart?" she asked. "I may not know what your mission is, but from the first time I saw you guys, I thought of you as a team." Goofy hesitated for a moment, but then followed Donald, who was ignoring Akara. The beast-man, who she then decided to call Beast, tried to move toward the next platform, but couldn't.

"Hey... don't move. You're hurt," said Sora, and he cast a healing spell on Beast's wounds.

"Why... did you come here?" asked the Beast. "I came... to fight for Belle. And though I may be on my own, I will fight. I won't leave without her."

Sora looked intently at the Beast, and then picked up the wooden sword. "Me too. I'm not going to give up now, not when I've come so far. I came here to find someone very important to me."

"Kairi, right?" Akara asked.

"Yeah," said Sora. That being the end of the conversation, they headed off toward the next platform, to go to the castle of Hollow Bastion.

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Saphire's notes: Not much really to comment on this chapter. Review.


	4. Hollow Bastion's Threats

Of Red and Yellow

"What is this stuff?" asked Akara curiously, poking some of the magenta magic-like stuff that emerged from broken pipes. Sora was in front of her, his head held almost half-heartedly, and the wooden sword held lifelessly by his side.

"Why does it matter?" said Sora sadly, his head obviously still on the object of his key-sword being stolen by that boy named Riku. "It's not like Heartless are going to emerge from them, or that it's going to try to kill us."

"Wow, you sound cheerful," Akara said sarcastically. "I thought you said that you were going to continue looking for that girl... what's her name?"

"Kairi," Sora said.

"Yeah, Kairi. And you have to remember, even the greatest of monks started out with a wooden weapon," said Akara, quoting her teacher. That quote had always made her laugh, even though it meant that, when Akara was smaller, that she couldn't use a sword or the staff she held now.

"What?" asked a baffled Sora, looking like he was about to laugh.

"I don't exactly know what it meant either. I just thought it would cheer you up. We can't have a hero disheartened, now can we?" They reached the huge double doors that had many designs on them, and Sora reached for the handles.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he answered, and tugged on the door. It didn't open. He struggled, finally putting his feet on the door and pulling with all his strength. "Um, Beast, can you give me a hand here?" asked Sora sheepishly.

"They're locked," was all that Beast said. Sora jumped down from the door and blushed.

"I knew that..." Sora said.

Akara leaned over the balcony, seeing a pipe that lead from the door to the area below. "Hey, Sora, look at this," she said. From a few spots the magenta magic escaped. "Maybe the magenta stuff is Hollow Bastion's power source. Anyway, we should find a way down there..." Akara continued, looking down at the icy-like depths below. Sora suddenly was on the railing that Akara was leaning on.

"Then let's go!" he shouted, jumping off the balcony.

"Sora!" yelled Akara, "Honestly, he's going to kill himself someday."

"How long have you known him?" asked the Beast.

"About twenty minutes," answered Akara.

The Beast looked at her blankly. Akara got up on the fence and followed Sora, but unleashing some magic to soften her fall. To her surprise, Sora was standing safely, waiting for her. Beast followed them soon afterwards. But just as they took a step forward, large creatures made of pure darkness appeared. "The Heartless..." murmured Sora darkly, and he stepped into his fighting stance.

"This is what you thought I was when we first met? You insult me," said Akara as she smacked one with her staff, causing it do disappear. "I'm much stronger than these freaks."

But while Akara was having an fairly enjoyable time defeating the few Heartless that pursued her, Sora was being overrun by them. "Fire!" he yelled, but even the magic attack was weakened by his wooden sword. "Um, can somebody help me here?" he asked, and the Beast roared, destroying the remaining Heartless around Sora. "Thanks."

From there the three navigated through a dungeon with a seemingly million gates that closed or opened a path, causing the trip just to open up the castle gates run for an hour. But finally the group prevailed, just by the simple flick of a switch. The three quickly got back to the gates, where they opened up by themselves. Of course, Sora, Beast, and Akara walked in.

"Be on your guard," warned the Beast, "They're coming. I can feel it. Are you ready for them?" A whisper of silk caught both the Beast's and Akara's attention, and they turned around. "Belle," said the Beast hoarsely, but a pool of darkness appeared under her and consumed her, leaving only a gleeful Shadow. Anger seemed to have been evoked, the Shadow hitting a tender nerve, and the Beast lunged after it. Akara tried to hold him back.

"Come on, we need to help Sora!" she shouted, but the Beast was immune to her calls. As they ran out, Beast to kill the Shadow, Akara to try to stop him, the grand double doors slammed shut. Akara stopped chasing the Beast to look towards them. "Great," she moaned. The Beast roared in the background, the now-common tinkling of munny showed that he had killed the Shadow. Akara sat on the railing and wondered aloud, "What, am I supposed to just wait for him to be killed now?"

"Yeah, I guess that would be your best bet. Then you would have some company when I send you down to the underworld. But it's not like you don't know the place," a voice said from behind Akara.

"When you said you were going to haunt me for the rest of your life, I didn't think it would involve you stalking me into other worlds, Zaraz," Akara said lightly.

"Oh, I'm not Zaraz." Akara turned around to face her opponent. No one was there. The strange feeling started to creep up her arms, and settled where her heart was. "I may sound like Zaraz, but I'm not. But am I right, though? I've heard from certain sources that you could be a ruler of the underworld."

"A ruler of the underworld?" asked Akara, disgusted.

"Yes. Ruler of the heartless and other _monsters_."

"Whoever you are, show yourself! I am not amused by your petty schemes!" yelled Akara, but a light breeze blew her words away. The unsettled feeling in her heart grew intense, and the a cruel laugh echoed around the area, catching even the Beast's attention.

"You--" laughed the voice, but then it stopped suddenly, "What? The Keybearer won?" The voice sounded a bit scared now, and the haze that had gripped her heart disappeared, and the doors opened. Sora ran out, Donald and Goofy behind him.

"Akara! Are you alright?" Sora said, worry written all over his face.

"Yeah. I'm fine..." she assured him, but then added under her breath, "...now..." A smile spread across Sora's face.

"I'm glad then!" He said cheerfully, and then said grimly, "Let's go." Akara and the Beast followed him back into the looming castle.

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Saphire's notes: Wow, I got past my "chapter 4 writing block!" Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, but as previously mentioned, I usually have a writers block on chapters 4 – 6. And also, I'm sorry for this short chapter. So, anyway, review!


	5. Familiar?

Of Red and Yellow

Akara walked down a lone road, a battered countryside was all she could see. The farmhouses that should've been there were nothing more than burnt skeletons, the people were gone. A laugh penetrated the air, the owner unknown. Akara spun around quickly, trying to find them.

"Foolish girl. All those who oppose me will perish." The voice echoed throughout Akara's head. She looked ahead of her, and a distortion appeared in the road ahead. She ran towards it, never nearing. "That's right, girl. Keep on running..."

The voice didn't beat on Akara's spirit like it should have. It simply made her more determined to beat this voice, and show it that it didn't know anything. She was going to be the first to oppose it that would survive. Akara ran faster, her boots pounding against the dirt, but still the distortion did not get any closer. Nothing changed about the scenery. There was a strange familiar feeling about this place...

When she realized that this place was familiar, the distortion suddenly started getting closer and closer, at a high speed. Akara slowed, hoping to see what lied within it. But the distortion simply went at a faster speed and passed right by her. Really, it more right though her. Either way, it cause Akara to have a vision.

_"Akisa, she's so beautiful..." said an young man wearing brown trousers and a dusty white shirt. His hair was a deep black, but his eyes were the same ocean-blue of Akara's._

_"Yes, she is." The mother sat in a bed, holding a small baby. The mother's hair was a stunning silver, almost white, and had gray eyes. Her skin was very pale, and she didn't look like the healthiest of people. "I'm just sorry that I won't be able to see her through her childhood, or the teenage years."_

_"You know as well as I do that we can go in hiding, and keep her!" the father whispered loudly. "We can keep her from the government!"_

_The mother looked at her husband fiercely. "And what then, John? Do you really want to see our child starve while we fight back the government? Do you want her to have no friends, and then when we die an early death, no family? At least the government will feed and clothe her, how little it may be. It will be much better than what we can give her."_

_The father stammered. "B-but do you know what they do to the new 'recruits' lately? They send them off to foreign planets as a test. Only about fifty percent of the time they remember to pick them up after a year." But a pounding on the door interrupted their conversation._

_"It's the police! Open up!"_

_The father looked at the mother, and she nodded. Her husband reluctantly opened the door, and talked with the people outside for a minute. After that moment, a gun went off, and the husband collapsed. The mother got out of bed quickly, still holding the child, and went over to his body._

"Why did you do this?"_ she asked. "Why?"_

_"He was intercepting our efforts. If you do not cooperate, the same will happen to you. Where is the child?" The mother slowly stood up, and handed the baby to the leader of the group. He recklessly tossed the baby into a sack on his back. The mother gasped when he did this, and collapsed onto the floor, sobbing. She was sure that her baby was already good as dead. The police group left, but one of them stopped at the door, looking back at the mother._

_"Just... kill me..."_

_"Pardon?" he asked._

_"Please... kill me... So I can be out of this misery..."_

_"Ma'am, please. I don't like killing people like the others. I can't possibly kill you."_

_"Please..." she sobbed._

_"Well, look here," interrupted a loud voice from the door. The mother didn't react, but the officer did. He stepped back from the person. _

_"Please... just kill me..."_

_"I would be glad to," the man laughed, and pulled out his gun._

"Who were those people?" shouted Akara to the sky, hoping the mysterious voice would answer her. It didn't.

An invisible force started shaking her shoulders, and then the whole desolate world disappeared.

◘ ◙ ◘

"Akara, wake up!" yelled Sora, shaking her shoulders. Akara sat up suddenly, surprising Sora and pushing him off balance.

"What is it?" she asked rather calmly.

"Well, um, it's nine, and..."

"What? It's already nine? I was trained to get up at five-thirty every morning!" Akara stood up, trying straightening her hair in vain. Sora just stared at her for a few moments, and then got up from the ground.

"Donald and Goofy are already up there," explained Sora, pointing towards a tall ledge. "We really should get up there too."

When they finally reached the door to the inner chapel, Donald and Goofy were already waiting. Akara said she would stay and keep watch outside, just in case some Heartless tried to sneak in to help the witch Maleficent. But the true reason was probably because she wanted to ponder her dreams of last night, and she didn't really know the Maleficent character too much, and thus did not have a great enmity for her like the others.

"Fine then, Akara. We'll see you again when we win," Sora said confidently, and Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement. They headed into the darkness of the chapel, leaving Akara alone.

She sat on the ledge, her feet hanging over, just thinking about what her dream meant. The evil laughter and voice probably meant fear of encountering the dark. The desolate wasteland could represent her empty memories, almost torn from her mind, it seemed. But the vision... that was something different. Who were those people? They seemed so familiar...

As Akara pondered her dream, the evil laughter echoed throughout Hollow Bastion...

◘ ◙ ◘

Saphire's notes: Wow... major writing block on this chapter. I probably have about three different versions of this chapter now. Well, I'm especially proud of the dream sequence. How long has it been since I last updated? Thank you to all my reviewers and I hope to hear your opinions on this chapter!


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